


to come within an ace of

by jiusngs



Series: Renmin take on tumblr: a series of prompts [1]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Again, First Meetings, Kinda, M/M, Making Out, my audience really likes fics where they make out so i do nothing but provide, they make out, this is all thanks to that one tumblr prompt, uh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-01
Updated: 2019-11-01
Packaged: 2021-01-16 13:15:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21271625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jiusngs/pseuds/jiusngs
Summary: in which renjun robs jaemin - or tries to, at least.





	to come within an ace of

**Author's Note:**

> based off of a tumblr prompt ('you found me hanging by my fingertips from your window and i don't want to tell you i was trying to rob you but idk how else to explain this and i don't want to go to jail and also you're kind of cute we should make out when i'm not clinging onto your window ledge for my life' au)
> 
> thank you tumblr, very cool!

“Don’t be such a party-pooper, Mark.” Donghyuck whines and clutches onto the ankles of Mark’s sweatpants as Mark attempts to pull himself away.

He almost slips, doesn’t, then fixes his friend with a glare. “I said _no_. I’m not playing anymore. My participation ended when I was dared to pluck thirty blades of grass with tweezers—I mean, _seriously_, what kind of dare is that? I missed two turns!”

He shakes Donghyuck off, like he’s been trying to all night; anything to escape the younger’s coddling. Eventually, Donghyuck decides it best to let him go and adamantly turns to everybody else in the circle. They hear Mark’s footsteps as he disappears, probably straying into the kitchen in search of a late night snack.

With everybody’s attention drawn back to him, Donghyuck grabs the bottle laying in the middle of the circle and spins. It comes to a pitiful stop with the uncapped finish facing Renjun, who is doing his best to scoot away from its direction. Jisung nudges him back into his designated spot and gets a grunt of annoyance in response.

“Fine, I choose dare.” He gives in. “What’s the damage?”

Donghyuck mulls it over for a while, the others’ eyes furiously darting between the two in anticipation. There’s a mischievous glint in his eyes when he jokingly lifts his fingers to his chin, stroking his non-existent facial hair in thought. “No damage, my friend—only if you get caught.”

_"Caught?_"

Donghyuck nods. “I saw Rich Kid and his parents head out about an hour ago,” he shoves a finger in the direction of Renjun’s neighbouring house, owned by a somewhat (very) well-off family. They’d come up with the nickname for the boy when they’d seen him arrive at school in one of those fancy, high-end cars that the rest of them would only see in commercials. Renjun still doesn’t understand why they’d chosen _this_ exact neighbourhood to live in; don’t get him wrong, it’s a pretty peaceful and decent looking area, but with the amount of money that the family seems to have, he’s sure they could do better. “I dare you to sneak in there and rob them.”

_"What?_" Jeno scowls.

“Are you out of your fucking _mind?_" Renjun’s posture straightens as he glares at him incredulously. “No way in _hell_ am I-”

“_A dare is a dare, Donghyuck!_” Donghyuck mimics in a high tone; it’s something Renjun had said earlier. “_You gotta do it!_ Where’d that mentality go, huh?”

He’s right: Renjun _had_ said that when Donghyuck had refused to do his dare, he won’t deny the fact.

Renjun, not one to get hypocritical, rolls his eyes with a sigh as his friend continues, “It doesn’t have to be anything huge… a candlestick back there could be like fifty smackeroos, you know?”

Renjun feels all eyes cast on him, building up the pressure as they stare expectantly, waiting for his response, which, of course, has to be:

“Fine.”

He sports his _‘2019 Regional Dance Competition’_ hoodie, pyjama shorts and sneakers when a hand viciously shoves him forward, right in-between the shoulder blades. He looks back to find them all huddled in the doorway, Donghyuck sending him off with a shoo-ing motion.

He sure as hell is not going to just bust the front door open and waltz in—no, that’d be too _easy_, Jisung had said, and not to mention painfully obvious to the other neighbours; the neighbours who wouldn’t even think twice about calling the cops on him.

So, Renjun opts for the window at the back of the house which he knows is way too high up to be deemed accessible, but, thank any god who dares to listen, he spots a tree standing tall right beside it. 

He mumbles another curse to himself as he reaches for the first branch.

Renjun’s not sure if the tree is old, or if it’s just a thing that had gone uncared for, but every branch feels wobblier than the last. He feels the dampness that had clammed up from the evening’s rain stick to his palms. There’s a crack when he drops his foot on the branch below. 

But, he thinks, if he climbs fast enough, then there shouldn’t be any complications, right? Absolutely, without a doubt, _incorrect_. The second he reaches up for the final branch, it bends and threatens to snap under the pressure.

With a yelp, he loses his footing and sways his legs about, attempting to find some sort of ledge beneath him. Nothing. So he hangs.

Renjun’s a _dancer_, he doesn’t have strong arms as he does legs, he can’t hold himself up for longer than a minute. He gazes upwards, eyes moving before his head so that he can sneak a peek try of the window ledge; to his surprise, it’s not too far. Maybe he could just jump and grab-

He doesn’t let himself finish the thought before going for it. He thought it’d be something like soaring, feeling the breeze sweep through his overgrown hair, but he lets out a whine upon impact, wincing and squeezing his eyes shut as his fingers curl onto the ledge. A shock runs all the way from his fingertips up to his biceps and it _stings_. Renjun almost makes the mistake of hissing and rubbing his palms together.

“Stupid, stupid, _stupid._” He leans his head back. He’s not sure whether he’s talking about himself or Donghyuck, and he doesn’t dwell on it either. Instead, Renjun allows himself a moment’s rest to get his breathing under control.

“You need some help there?”

The voice startles him so much that his entire body pulses and he loses the grip in one hand. His arm grazes the bricks before it falls to his side. _This_, he thinks, _singes._

Looking up again, he meets a pair of marvelling eyes.

Ah, of course Rich Kid had stayed home.

Renjun winces his eyes shut, silently telling himself that this _could not_ possibly be happening and he did nothing to deserve this (unless almost robbing your neighbour counted? It probably did). He reopens them.

“Uh… if you don’t mind.” 

The eye contact unnerves him more than expected, and something in his stomach twists. His gaze drops to the ground below. Oh. He’s high up. Higher than he’d thought. Renjun forces down a gulp.

“Why are you hanging from my window ledge?” Rich Kid—who actually has a name: Jaemin—quirks a brow.

_Is he going to help or not?_

“Just…” Renjun manages to get out through gritted teeth, “just going for a climb; you have beautiful trees, perfect for it.”

He's sure as hell not going to tell this guy that he’d been about rob him. Ending up behind bars isn’t exactly on Renjun’s bucket list.

“Mhm.” Jaemin raises his eyebrows in pseudo-belief, dropping his hand down for Renjun to grab hold of.

They both let out a grunt, Jaemin when he hauls Renjun up, and Renjun when he topples to the floor, his head knocking the bedside table. 

He immediately feels a wave of relief wash over himself. Righting his posture and pressing his beck against the bed, it’s like he hasn’t been this comfortable in ages. 

He brings a hand up to palm at his forehead. There’s a scrape on in his inner arm, a small trickle of blood already dried up.

Without looking up, he feels Jaemin’s eyes burn into him as he stands, waiting for an explanation.

_No way,_ Renjun thinks, _I’ve given him enough of an explanation to get me the hell out of here._

Apparently not, because as soon as he pushes himself to his feet, he stumbles. When Jaemin’s hand wraps around his arm to steady him, Renjun thinks that that’s all the help he’s going to get before he’s kicked out, but Jaemin’s grip tightens, holding him in place.

“You just like climbing other people’s trees at nine at night?”

Renjun doesn’t have the time nor the patience for this. He wants to get back home, give his friends a good telling off and crawl into bed.

“_Yes_.” He replies instead, “Fantastic hobby, you should try it sometime. I’ll be going now.”

Jaemin pulls him straight back and Renjun struggles when he trips over his own foot. He falls back against the wall.

“You’re in my school, right? Some of my classes?” Jaemin cocks his head to the side. If Renjun isn’t mistaken, there’s a hint of a grin toying on his lips. “Renjun, isn’t it?”

Great, pretty boy knows his name. If Renjun plays this the wrong way, he’d be in more trouble than ever. He nods.

“Seriously.” Jaemin’s grip falters and he draws his lips into a frown. This, to Renjun’s dismay, catches his attention. The moonlight that streams in through the window splays over Jaemin’s features, and his eyes gleam. It’s the first time Renjun gets to look at him out of school—really look at him. He’s ready for bed, clad in sweatpants and a white tee. Renjun glances up and down before he meets his eyes again. “What were you doing?”

It’s like the stars seep into them. Jaemin owns the sky.

The whole ‘_oh-he-looks-pretty-cute-now_’ thing kind of makes it a bit more difficult to keep up the lie. Jaemin’s got this front, one that tells Renjun he shouldn’t be worried and that Jaemin’s an easy-going kind of guy. 

“Honestly?” He raises an eyebrow. Jaemin nods. “My friends and I were playing truth or dare back at my place and one of them dared me to rob you.”

“What the _fuck_.”

“Yeah, but that’s clearly not going to happen, so if you’d just let me—” Renjun reattempts his great escape, but with one step closer, Jaemin backs him up.

“You just admitted to wanting to rob me and you expect me to let you go?” Jaemin says, “I should call the cops.”

“Hey,” Renjun raises his arms in defence, “I never said anything about _wanting_ to rob you.” 

Jaemin catches on and breathes out a mirthless laugh. Renjun angles his head to take a look at the bedside table: a deck of cards, a plastic water bottle, a book, Jaemin’s phone, and a lamp. Nothing valuable, and he’s not going to steal a phone or go running across the lawn with a lamp under his arm.

Reaching over, he slides the top card off the deck and holds it up beside his face. Jaemin had taken a precautionary step forward once Renjun had focused his attention on the table. 

“But if you could just let me take this…” Renjun lowers his voice to a croaky whisper.

“A playing card?” Jaemin pulls the corner of his mouth into a smirk. 

Renjun’s stomach flips and his throat runs dry. Without thinking, his tongue darts out to swipe over his lips, and he swallows—hard. Jaemin’s stare is so intense that it forces Renjun to lower his gaze, down, down, down, oh, his lips seem like a good stop. 

Renjun isn’t one to fluster easily, but as he stands here, so close to Jaemin that they breathe the same air, flustered is all he is. His eyes sweep across the room, anywhere, as long as they’re on anything except for the face in front of him. 

“If I could just- just take this, I’ll…” His voice dies down before he can finish. There’s something inside of him that’s begging, a candle waiting to be set alight. “Uhm…” He swallows down the lump that builds up in the back of his throat.

Renjun catches Jaemin doing the same, and the sight is what sets him off: Jaemin’s staring at him too, take notice of every single action he’s making—and not because he’s worried or afraid Renjun will do something reckless, but because he’s alone when he doesn’t want to be. They’re both waiting for something that they shouldn’t be waiting for, something to burn them up.

Jaemin tugs the corner of his lip down and between his teeth, and Renjun feels his own lips drying up again. Renjun backs himself up against the wall and Jaemin follows him by stepping forward. 

“If I could just take this,” he starts again, eyes flickering between Jaemin’s own and his lips.

Jaemin’s eyes widen for a second when he realises that they’re thinking the same thing. Shared classes, secret glances, and no effort from either part.

“That’s the fourth time you’ve tried to say the same sentence and you’re not getting any closer to finishing it.” Jaemin whispers into the night. The wind sends his words flying above their heads.

The only thing getting closer _is_ Jaemin. There’s the smallest gap between them, and so much friction building up that when Renjun speaks again, something sparks.

“I… I can try again.”

Jaemin smiles, leans in, and Renjun lets whatever it is that’s happening happen. 

The word that enters his mind is soft. It’s the most gentle kiss Renjun has ever had in his goddamn life. Part of him feels dirty for it, for kissing someone he barely knows, but the other part is catching fire. He feels so light, like he could ascend into the clouds at any moment; the only that keeps him grounded is Jaemin’s one hand cupping his cheek.

He tastes of vanilla, Renjun notes before he kisses him back. Jaemin brings his other hand to sneak it’s way over to Renjun’s waist. Renjun responds by moving both of his to Jaemin’s neck, tugging him closer. 

Everything about Jaemin could only be described as _soft. _His eyes, his smile, his hair that Renjun gets the pleasure of running his hand through, and there’s just not enough. Renjun wants more, more, more of the taste, of the feeling; he wants to feed the part of him that had stayed hungry for the longest time. His skin feels like it’s gone untouched for months, maybe years, when Jaemin lowers his hand to his jaw. 

He can tell that Jaemin had definitely gotten out of the shower just a little while ago; there’s a faint scent that still lingers on him and it’s heavenly enough for him to feel like he’s soaring_._ It’s lemon. It makes him laugh against Jaemin’s lips because that is exactly what Renjun had subconsciously pictured him using. 

Jaemin smiles back.

What brings him back down to earth is Donghyuck’s voice in the far background, calling out his name. He frowns; it can’t have been longer than fifteen minutes. Maybe twenty. Still, Renjun wants to stay.

Before Renjun pulls away from him, Jaemin runs his hand all the way down his arm, leaving goosebumps in it’s wake. He reaches Renjun’s hand and plucks the card out of it in favour of slipping it into the pocket of Renjun’s hoodie. Only then do they part for air.

Neither of them say anything as Renjun begins to make his descent back out the window, Jaemin leaning against the frame and gazing at him with a look Renjun can’t quite describe—he couldn’t blame him though, Renjun’s pretty confused as to what he’s feeling himself.

Jaemin had been a little bit of a brat when Renjun had asked to exit through the door. He’d told him that that’s not how burglars do it, to which Renjun wanted to argue, but after having himself drained and weakened, he couldn’t bring himself to.

He drops his feet down onto a more stable branch than the last one he’d used to climb his way up, hands still resting upon the window ledge. To ensure minimum levels of awkwardness, he keeps his head hung low, avoiding any eye contact the two could possibly make. If he doesn’t get a move on, he’s sure his friends would break into the place themselves to find him.

“Hey,” Jaemin suddenly says, startling Renjun like he had earlier. Renjun has no choice but to connect their gazes. “You’re in my biology class, right?”

It takes Renjun a moment, maybe two, but eventually, he swallows down that lump in his throat again, and he’s sure that this time it’s gone for good. He nods, “And a few others, yeah.”

The stars still shine in Jaemin’s eyes, and Renjun finds it difficult to tear his focus away from them this time.

“See you Monday, Robin Hood.” There’s a grin playing on his lips too, and Renjun can’t believe that he was just kissing them, nor the fact that he wishes he were _still_ kissing them.

He puts that behind him and smiles back. “If you say so, Rapunzel.”

Jaemin turns his nose up at the name and Renjun laughs before he makes his way down.

He’s halfway back to his house when something comes to mind. 

Digging into the pocket of his hoodie, he pulls out the playing card he’d taken from Jaemin’s bedside table. He thinks it’s almost laughable when he sees which one he’d gotten: an ace.

Renjun flips it twice over and stares for a moment longer before pocketing it again, all of the thoughts he’d put a stop to flooding right back in and bombarding his mind. He goes through them all, a million per second, and he decides that if anything good had ever come out of one of Donghyuck’s dares, it’s this. And if something were to potentially happen between him and Jaemin, he doesn’t think he’d mind in the slightest—snooty rich kid or not.

“So? Did you get anything?” Donghyuck stares at him expectantly when he finally gets to the front door.

He’s not sure how he’s supposed to reply to that, but he does know that his heart is still hammering faster than it should. He clutches the fabric at his chest.

“I think he was the one that stole from _me_.”

**Author's Note:**

> my [twitter](https://twitter.com/sungsies)


End file.
